Escape Reality
by Spontaneous Muse
Summary: Seven people meet by fate. They have been turned into seven pokemon, forced to do a machine's bidding in a dark laboratory. Their personalities conflict completely. Why are they here? Where are their bodies? Most importantly, how will they survive?
1. Holding Quaters: Prelude

Yay for AU.

I'm typing this amazing story, which will have a Portal-like feel to it, but it is completely genius. Geeenniiiuusss.

Haha, I don't know.

Hi, I'm back!

Anyways, I haven't written a lot lately, so I decided to pull out one of my amazing plots and get something going.

… I will try to finish it. :P

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**Holding Quarters  
Time Elapsed: 0**

_This isn't my life.__  
This wasn't how it was supposed to be.__  
Why is this happening?  
Why…_

…_.._

"Everything seems in good order."

I felt my fingers relax, as they were tightly curled up in a ball. "Thank you so much." I gasped breathlessly.

The woman across from me, face hidden by a large paper, began to speak again. "No problems at all. May I ask for your na-"

"I'm Rhyme." I quickly explained.

"Well Miss Rhyme, if you would follow me…"

I took a deep, excited breath. It wasn't everyday an exclusive lab took on new assistants. I let myself being led by this woman, who brought me through complex twists and turns. The dark room I was interviewed in began to brighten, until I was walking through a corridor with bright white metal walls and steel-blue tiles.

We finally arrived at a large, steel door. The woman opened the door and held it open. I walked in, and was surprised to see the dark, cement grey walls surrounding me again. There were large containers with bright teal fluid oozing inside.

"Wow…" I breathed. Suddenly I noticed something.

There was a single being floating in one of these tubes, and as I squinted, I recognized the human atomy of a male, hunched over and curled up. But something seemed out of place.

_Was he growing horns out of his head?!_

There was an audible snapping sound, like a bone cracking. Suddenly, I felt something hit the back of my head. And then I lost everything.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"Isn't she awake yet…"

"…Aya, can you please stop. You've been poking her for the last five minutes."

I groaned, as I heard these voices in my mind. Hot…I was so hot…

"Ugh! I wish she would get up already! Freaking-!! We really don't need someone completely knocked out on us-!"

"_Aya_." I heard a metallic snapping sound, and the first voice instantly stopped.

Oh god, what was this burning sensation? It got more and more intense the longer I stayed conscious…

My eyes snapped open.

"Oh hey, she's awake." The first voice said. I heard a loud sigh.

"Hot…so hot…" My voice sounded different – raspy somehow.

"Sorry, what are you talking about?" Curious, almost surprised.

"I'm burning…."

"Um… you're not-"

"I'm on freaking fire!" I cried, Leaping up. I instantly lost my footing and fell on all fours. I tried to struggle on my feet again, but I felt unsupported and fell on my hands once more. _Ugh. As if I didn't need to look like moreof a fool._

"Hey, you're not on fire or anything." The first speaker said. The burning sensation kept growing, it wasn't about to die down…

"Calm down a little." Said another voice. I recognized it as the second speaker. "Relax, and get used to it."

How can I get used to myself being on fire?

Suddenly, I heard a bark. Or a laugh. I wasn't very sure what it was, but it seemed like laughter.

"Oh, I see why now." It was the first speaker. _What?_

"It's no surprise, seeing as you are who you are." The voice continued.

I stood up, on all fours again, and was about to shoot back a biting reply, when the burning got even more aggravating. Suddenly I realized something.

I was talking to white fluff the whole time.

And now that I was upright, well, to a certain extent, I've been talking to…an Absol.

The absols red, gleaming eyes looked at me questioningly. "See? You're just like us."

Us? There were more pokemon here? The burning was still searing my back. I tensed, and recoiled from the pain.

"I told you to relax. This is what happens when you become a fire pokemon. You'll adapt eventually." I heard the steely voice again, the second speaker. I turned to pinpoint the voice, and instead, saw a Mawile.

She was leaning against a wall casually, arms crossed, her 'trap' over to her side. She opened one eye and gave me a hard stare. "Who are you? We better get to know each other."

Know each other? What does she mean? The Absol forced my attention back to her.

"You know…maybe you should get used to your body first."

I glanced down at myself, and was treated with steely blue fur. _My _fur. But something was off. No fire types are steely blue.

"You're a shiny Ninetales." The Mawile helped. I blinked. Me? Shiny? Ninetales? My back won't stop burning…

It was too much at once.

"Get a grip!" The Absol said frantically. I slumped on the ground, my back burning intensively.

"Hey, Aya. Remember when you first became a pokemon? You had to get all your energy out as well." The Mawile said cautiously. The Absol suddenly leapt out of the way.

"Okay Ninetales, let it out!"

Let it out? Let _what _out? Suddenly, my instincts washed over me, and the heat that was burning me from the base of my stomach bubbled up from my throat, feeling as if I had acid vomit.

And I let it out.

A magnificent stream of red hot flames shot out of my mouth, not ceasing to stop.

The flame, to my surprise, was controllable. When I narrowed my mouth, the flames narrowed as well. The whole cell-like room lit up eerily at the brightness of my fire, and I could barely make out the outlines of three or four more individuals within our confinements.

Finally it was all gone. I felt still a little overheated, but better than before.

"Wow." The Mawile said curiously. "My transition wasn't as violent."

"Nor was mine." The Absol said lightly. "But _hers_ was."

I wasn't very sure who the Absol was referring to.

"Anyways, your name?" The Mawile asked.

"R-Rhyme." I said. My voice _was_ different, it was husky… and almost sounded like…a bark?

"Aya." Absol introduced.

"Rhythmica." Mawile said curtly.

"Nice to meet you." I said out of habit. I suddenly remembered the other figures that were with us, who I only saw thanks to my fire.

"And who are the others?"

Aya looked at me. "Well, all we know is that _those two_-" She gestured to two of the faint shapes that were closer together, "-came together. One's a Manetric named Rayus, and the other is Kami, an Espeon."

"And see that Froslass? She just told us her name. Koren. And also 'not to get in her way'."

I instantly thought that this group was lacking some sort of heroic trait.

"Now that all the introductions are done…" It was a new voice, rougher, and male. I assumed it was Rayus. "What are we doing here?"

"If we knew the answer to that, then don't you think we would've done something by now?" Rhythmica shot back. I had a feeling those two had a rocky start.

I looked at Aya. She didn't seem to notice, she was staring at Rayus with a hard glance. "He's very… commanding." She murmured to me.

"Look, I really don't want to be wasting time here." Rayus growled, his pelt sparking with electricity.

"I don't think any of us really wants to be stuck in this cage." Rhythimca glared.

"Then why don't we get out?"

"I've already tried, captain obvious."

"Try again!"

"I'd rather not break my teeth off once more!"

"Guys…" The voice was so tiny, so quiet, it was hard to notice. "Guys… can we please stop fighting?"

"_Shut up Kami._"

The whole 'cage' went quiet.

"How could he?" Aya gasped. Her eyes narrowed. "That wasn't polite!"

"Don't tell me how I should or shouldn't treat her!" Rayus snapped. The tension in this small confinement shot up, and I had a feeling everyone was just very…shocked and surprised of the current situation.

Rhythmica flared up once more. "Look, whether you like it or not, we're all in this place together so its better if we co-operate!"

"She isn't doing much is she?" Rayus snarled, thrusting his muzzle at Koren's dim outline. "If she does anything, maybe I wi-"

Aya started bristling.

"Aya?" I asked timidly. Her eyes were barely slits, her whole pelt puffed out. Her limbs wouldn't stop shaking and she took a cautious step back.

"Aya! What's wrong?" I asked louder, surprised now.

"I… I don't know. I just can't stop. Something bad is going to happen… I know it…"

Suddenly there was a metallic keening sound. Everyone flinched.

"_**Another one has come to join you**_."

There was a flash of blinding light, coming from the outside of the cage no doubt, and then something flew in, and the light faded.

"Another one? So quickly?" Rhythmica said worriedly.

We looked at our newcomer. He was definitely disheveled, but it was no doubt he was a Kadabra. He out cold. Then something struck me as strange.

"You guys didn't know what the voice said?"

"No…" Aya looked at Kami. "Usually she translates." She tilted her head to the side. "You can understand?"

"I guess it's one of Ninetale's abilities." I said quietly. I looked at the lump, and suddenly I recognized him.

_He was the boy in the lab where I got knocked out._

Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

We were all humans once.

We all were turned into pokemon.

Fate led us here to meet one another.

But why?

I looked at everyone, trying to analyze them. Aya had stopped bristling, but she didn't seem thrilled and completely relaxed. Everyone was tense, except for Koren. She was off in another corner.

Aya suddenly whimpered. She began to bristle once more. "Guys…"

The metallic keening had us all wincing once again.

"_**Now that you've all met, let us begin.**_"

And all I saw was more blinding light.

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Yay! Chapter one, DONE!

This has a very Portal like feel to it. It gets emotional too. This chapter was to really introduce the characters and let you get a feel of who they are.

I'll be back the next chapter.

REVIEW PLEASE!! I'd love some.

-Jakiee


	2. Test Chamber 1: Rulez

CHAPTER TWOOO.

Jakie: Hey fools, thanks for reading Escape Reality. I've decided for the authors notes, I'd let one character jump in and help me out!

Aya: Hey guys.

Jakie: Its our most friendly character amongst the group.

Aya: Heh, thanks Jakie.

Jakie: Want to do disclaimer?

Aya: ... Sure. Jakie doesn't own anything, only plot and characters.

Jakie: ... see?! That wasn't so bad. New format as well. *points below*

Aya: Enjoy.

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**Test Chamber #1 : Rulez**

**Time Elapsed: 0:30 **

_Last chamber:_  
"_Now that you've all met, let us begin."__  
And all I saw was more blinding light._

The light blinded my vision.

My new eyes had to narrow against the harsh, bright light. It was impossible to make out anything.

Suddenly, the light faded.

"Is it gone yet?" I head a tiny voice murmur. From behind me, I recognized her voice as Kami, the tiny Espeon. Her eyes were squeezed shut, obviously blinded by the same sudden light.

"Yeah, that weird presence is gone as well." I heard the pokemon to my right say. Aya the Absol was narrowing her blood-red eyes, white pelt ruffled from her danger instinct.

'Where are we?" I heard myself ask. I was finally able to look at my surroundings without flinching. It was bright, despite the harsh light – which was gone now. The walls were so white it was almost blue, with large aquamarine-colored glass a ways above us.

"Is this the same lab we came from?" The Mawile on my other side speculated. "It is quite a contrast, isn't it?"

"Compared to that dark, black lab and containment room we were just in, yeah." Aya murmured. Rayus, the Manetric beside Kami, grumbled in disapproval.

Suddenly, I felt a chill trickle up from my spine. I whirled around to look at the offender, but instead was treated with a stunning sight.

Levitating ever-so-slightly, a small slender Froslass floated, looking away. Her eyes were narrow, yellow melting with her heavily lidded purple lids. As she looked away indifferently, small, crystal-like sparkles floated towards me. One caught on my nose, instantly freezing it. I quickly breathed through my nose to force it to melt.

"That's Koren." Aya murmured, following my gaze. I suddenly felt an ominous chill. _Oh._

Suddenly, as if sensing my presence, Koren whirled around. Her yellow eyes glared deep into mine.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice cold and challenging. I felt myself wince.

"N-nothing."

"Then don't stare at me." Was the chipped reply. I instantly felt anger rise, possibly in the form of hot flames.

But before I could loose the energy, Aya began to bristle uncontrollably.

"Here it comes-"

_**Screech.**_

_"**Welcome, and thank you for participating. Before we begin, you may ask any questions you have."**_

"Hey there MaAV, what the hell are we doing here?" Rayus snarled.

"MaAV?" Rhythmica questioned, her eyes narrowed disapprovingly.

"Mysterious and Annoying Voice." He spat. I heard a creepy tingling sound that resembled bells, but something about it sounded off. I realized Koren was laughing.

_"**Well sir, I believe you signed up for this."**_

"All I did was sign up for a job!" Rayus hissed. I blinked; these guys applied for a job as well?

_"**The job you signed up for was testing. So here we are now."**_

Suddenly, there was yet another loud screeching noise, and another sound that vaguely resembled a loud 'click'.

_"**Question period is over. It is time to begin. I'll guide you through the lab. The safety of our testers always come first."**_

"Safety of us first?" Koren snorted. "My ass. Why are we pokemon? Answer that!!"

_"**Question does not compute."**_ MaAV replied. Koren narrowed her eyes in anger, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet.

_"**Pokemon and Human behavior is something we are trying to look into. If that answer satisfies you, we shall begin."**_

"What ever." Koren hissed. In the corner of my eye, the last pokemon to be thrown into the lab – the Kadabra – seemed to finally respond. His head snapped up and looked extremely angry, but didn't voice himself.

_"**Your first objective. Take the cube and open the door to the next room."**_

"MaAV, what kind of a challenge is th-"

_"**MaAV is not my name. Goodbye."**_

_**Screech.**_

After recovering from that, Rayus stood up defiantly. "Take the cube and open the door to the next room." He imitated in a high pitched voice. "What kind of a challenge is _that?_"

"Ugh, shut up. You're giving me a headache." Rhythmica growled. "Let's just do this."

"Whatever boss. Kami!" He yelled unnecessarily, causing the small Espeon to jump. She was currently crouched down beside a heap of white fur who I recognized as Aya.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Freaggin' Danger sense …. I can't do anything while I'm bristling like crazy." She flipped her head back, her white pelt moving out of her slate-blue face. "How can MaAV expect Pokemon to have the same behavior as humans? We don't have ESP or anything."

"W-well, actual-"

"KAMI!" the purple dog winced again. She dashed to Rayus's side. "When I call you, you'd better come next time."

Aya narrowed her eyes. "Why is Kami so submissive?" She hissed. "Ugh, he's such a jerk. If it were me-"

"Let's go guys." Rhythmica interrupted. "Who knows what will happen if we don't finish this."

Aya sighed and nudged me. "Come on Rhyme." I nodded and trudged off.

Our soft footsteps echoed eerily in the lab, rebounding endlessly in the seemingly deserted facility. There was no other sound, just the rhythmic footsteps of us as we walked forward. Soon, we found the 'box' in question.

"This it?" Kami asked, pawing it hesitantly.

"Looks like it." Aya responded. She nosed it over, then grimaced. "Looks too heavy for one person – we'd have to move it together."

Rayus made an angry snarling sound, Koren continued to ignore us.

Rhythmica sighed and stood faithfully across from Aya. I went to the left of them, while Kami took the right. Rayus and Koren watched impassively, while the Kadabra continued to levitate away from us.

"Ready?" Rhythmica asked. My attention snapped back to the task at hand. The others nodded, and we tried lifting it. It didn't work out so well, due to our lack of hands.

"This isn't working." Aya growled redundantly.

"It won't work – we're missing proper grip." Rhythmica observed.

"Well, we all have our traits." I murmured. "Why don't we take advantage of that?"

"Well…" Aya glanced at Rhythmica. "Us two can't do a lick."

"Maybe I can do something." Kami suggested timidly. She closed her eyes, looking as if she was in extreme concentration. The box wiggled slightly, but the whole thing stopped all together. Kami collapsed on the tiles, panting. "Ahh…" She groaned.

"Kami, you know you can do better than that!" Rayus snarled. Kami didn't respond, still breathing heavily. Rayus rolled his eyes and brushed past his sister, causing her to whimper slightly. He faced the cube silently.

"Why don't we all try tackling it?"

"Stupid idea." Rhythmica dismissed quickly.

"No, it's not! All of our impacts would make it move-"

"Stupid. Idea." Rhyhmica stressed. Rayus glared.

"Then why don't _you_ do something?"

"In fact, I will, thank you." The Mawile's jaw snapped audibly. She turned her back on the Manetric with a huff. She looked at the box for a moment, staring it down.

"Backing off now, O fierce leader?"

"Can it." She snapped. She turned around, her large jaw facing the box.

"You gonna make a snack out of the box?"

"I said, _can it.__**" **_She snarled. She opened her jaw wide, and it clamped onto the box.

"You might break it!" Aya worried. Rhythmica shot her a look which made her bite back her words.

The small pokemon slowly bent her head down, heaving the box up. She took an unsteady step forwards.

"You sure that's going to hold?"

"No." Rhythmica spat. "But… that damn Rayus won't shut up unless… I show…" She threw her head forward, causing her 'trap' to fling forward, which in turn caused the box to go flying. "… some effort." She finished.

"Great going." Rayus said sarcastically. Rhythmica glared at him, but she didn't seem to be worn out. I suddenly realized how strong Rhythmica must be, to be able to fling a box so heavy in her jaws, and make it seem effortless.

"I moved the box, but where is it supposed to go?" She wondered.

I looked around. The lab was eerily silent, just a long mass of white and turquoise.

"Look." Kami whispered, looking at the ground. I followed her gaze, and saw a purple light pulse.

"What is that?" I asked. The light suddenly shot out in a long stream, following a very narrow black tube.

"I think its pulsing towards a power source." Aya deducted. Rhythmica narrowed her eyes.

"So there?" She asked. Aya nodded. Rhythmica clamped her jaws around the box again. "Here, we, go!" She heaved, thrusting the box forward. It hit the ground with an echoing clanging sound.

"Did I do it?" She asked.

"I dunno, let's go check." Aya said. We went down to the place where Rhythmica… er… threw the box. There was a circular, scale-like pad with a bunch of narrow black tubes coming out of it, with purple light pulsing towards it.

"I think the cube needs to be on that weight switch." I suggested. We all glanced at the box, it was just a few feet away from the switch.

"I don't care what you say, I'm tackling it." Rayus snorted. We all shot him a 'what the heck' glance, but he rammed against it with the side of his body, surprisingly just enough to put the cube on the weight.

_Ding._

_**Screech.**_

"_**Congratulations. The door has opened to the next room."**_

"Are you shitting me?!" Rayus yelled. "Isn't your stupid test over by now?"

"_**We still require more data.**_"

"You little-"

"Shut up, Rayus. You don't know MaAV's intentions. Don't make it mad at us." Rhythmica snapped.

Rayus opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it promptly. He looked at everyone impassively.

"Fine, lets just get it over with."

I quickly glanced around at our group. Aya, who was currently bristling like crazy, Kami, who hid behind Rayus, Rayus, who was snarling at Rhythmica, Rhythmica, who was staring him down, Kadabra, who was meditating, still haven't said anything, and Koren, back turned, radiating a cold demeanor.

_Get it over with?_ Yeah, that will take a long time.

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Jakie: Like it? Every chapter will take place during each lab room.

Aya: I really felt helpless in this chapter...

Jakie: Well you can't control your 'danger instinct', right?

Aya:...

Jakie: Anyways, review please~ Things will start to pick up soon. Until the next lab, enjoy~


End file.
